Twenty two – Forgiveness Part One
On a warm summer day in the afternoon, Alyena is sitting in her office working on finances. She thinks it's important to stay informed and money speaks more clearly than all the other reports combined.
What bothers her is that the pay for the New Legion has not been withdrawn by the generals. Since the New Legion is her project, the payment is outside the budget for the regular army. But this time that money was not used.
Why aren't those soldiers being paid? she asks herself.
She decides to find out from the generals themselves.
"Jack! Please get me the duty squad." she shouts to the guard at the door.
A little later, the guard replies that the squad is ready. Together with her guard, Alyena sets off for the army headquarters. Once there, she speaks to the clerk who is in charge of the finances of the army.
After just a few questions, he reveals that the New Legion rebelled some time ago. Since the guards who bring the pay away also have to withdraw it from the treasury, the money has still not been withdrawn.
"Now that they're not needed to take the money away, they don't pick it up," the clerk tells the empress.
A few minutes later, General Colling enters. The general is a man of about fifty years old with a square face. He has broad shoulders and narrow hips. Clearly a rider, Alyena thinks. She knows that the general has trouble with change, and is very convinced that the nobility is better than the ordinary people.
He invites her into his office and, at Alyena's insistence, tells her that the New Legion has indeed rebelled.
"Apparently they weren't exactly grateful for their job and as soon as they thought they had learned enough, they left."
The general is quite outspoken about his disapproval of the whole project. As far as he is concerned, ordinary people have no place in the army and women have to keep away from everything that has to do with the army. Alyena already knows this, but she has to know what’s going on in her realm.
Alyena feels that Colling doesn't tell everything, but can't put her finger on it. Therefore, immediately after the conversation with the general, she decides to check the orders of the army. To this end, she goes to the archives of the headquarters.
"I need the orders for the last three weeks," she tells the clerk who is in charge here.
He does not look happy when he hears what she wants, but can do against it. Who tells his empress that she can't have something? To be done with it faster, he decides to quickly show her where to look.
"What are you looking for in the orders, ma'am?" he asks. Alyena raises one of her eyebrows, amazed that the clerk gives in so easily.
"I seek all orders that have to do with the New Legion. The orders for the New Legion, but also the ones that relate to it."
The clerk mumbles something to himself as he quickly passes a row of documents. A little later he picks up a whole pile.
"These are the messages sent to the camp where the New Legion was trained," he tells her, after which he goes back to the documents. A few moments later he arrives with a smaller pile.
"And here are the orders for the army that are about the New Legion."
Everything seems well organized. Once back in her office, it only takes Alyena a short time to sort out the orders. According to the reports, the New Legion rebelled some time after their commander was replaced by a younger officer. This young man comes from one of the oldest noble families of the empire and used to be known as an arrogant bastard. That already explains a part, she thinks, he should never have been assigned there.
The last order shows that the generals consider the New Legion guilty and that they want to disband it. And that without consulting with her! As she can see from the reports, the location where the New Legion has taken refuge is known, namely somewhere in the southern wilderness. Apparently, the nearest garrison has already carried out an attack, in which several warriors of the garrison did not survive. Alyena smiles to herself. Even at this stage of their training, her New Legion is able to fend off an equal amount of warriors.
Then her face clouds over again. At the end of the order it says that the entire garrison, a thousand men, are to attack the New Legion.
"I cannot allow my troops to be treated like this. We are working hard to rebuild our army and these idiots are wasting the them against our own men. Just because this new unit is different from what they're used to," she told Captain Cervik, who has just come in.
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She decides to send one of her guards to find out when the order was sent. It takes the man almost half an hour to return. He says that the order was only sent yesterday with a quick messenger.
"According to the clerk, General Colling was furious when he gave the order. Apparently because some warriors have been killed. Civilians should not kill noblemen, was what he said to the clerk."
Angry, Alyena makes a decision. If her generals think they can do this without consulting her, then they are profoundly wrong. She quickly rushes back to her rooms.
"Cervik, gather an escort. I’ll leave immediately for the city of Aran in the south. Along the way I will inform you further. Make sure the escort is ready within the hour," she commands the captain of the guard, as she prepares to change clothes.
The captain rushes away after seeing her face. If your empress is in such a mood, you do not contradict her.
An hour later, Alyena is on her way with an escort of fifty men from her palace guard. She has left the most important matters to the clerks and her ministers, so the empire can function without her for a while.
On the way, she tells Captain Cervik what's going on. The captain has often had problems with General Colling and is therefore not surprised with what has happened. According to him, all the generals of the empire think this way.
"That's because of their noble upbringing," he tells her. "My own father doesn't like most of the nobles of the empire. He himself is satisfied to manage his lands as well as possible. Our interaction with the ordinary people is a lot better than other nobles. After the big storm of a few years ago, my father even stood in the fields himself to help the people. That's why he raised me and my brothers differently from young people like that captain you talked about."
Their journey begins well. The first days the road is in good condition and the villages they pass seem peaceful. But after a few days, the villages start to look less and less prosperous. Poorly maintained and overall they extrude a sense of poverty.
A few days later it is very clear that the people who live further from the cities do not have a lot to spend. Almost every hour that Alyena and her escort get closer to a city, the villages become more prosperous than the villages that are further away. Now that they arrive at the province of Aran, where the town of Aran is also located, it seems twice as bad here as in other provinces. The previous province was Tamrin and this morning they crossed the provincial border.
It seems like a completely different country. The two villages they have seen are not much more than hamlets and the people are depressed.
"Why are all these villages so decayed?" asks Alyena to Captain Cervik.
He thinks for a moment before he answers.
"The villages are owned by the landlords. These often live near the cities, but also have lands that are further away, such as these villages. As long as they themselves see few problems on their short trips, they are fine it. It doesn't matter how the farmers live, as long as they get their taxes."
"But they have a duty to take care of their people! These lands are part of the empire. If they are not properly cared for, the rights can also be taken back by the state. Why hasn't that happened here?"
Alyena is quite angry about this, but Captain Cervik explains it further.
"That's because most inspectors are corrupt or lazy. The few who are not, are quickly eliminated by the nobles. A few gold coins here and there is much cheaper for the nobles than refurbishing the villages."
Alyena keeps quiet and thinks about this for a few moments. Then she decides that she has to do something about it when she returns. The empire has to be strong in difficult times and if this kind of practice continues, then it will be a huge job to resist the enemy.
An hour after they have passed the second village, Captain Cervik suddenly stops. The captain listens attentively. Then he shakes his head and turns around to give the order to move out again. However, before he can give that order, arrows and stones fly through the air. Some guards go down immediately. The captain also goes down after a stone bounces against his helmet after hitting another guard. The projectiles continue to fly around. Alyena is pulled off of her horse by two guards and dragged protectively to the center. Almost half of the men are already dead or injured when the projectile rain suddenly stops.
A man steps out from the vegetation and calls for a pause. One of the guards walks forward and talks to the man. Then he comes back.
"These bandits have a hundred men. They want us to surrender," he tells Alyena. "Of course I turned it down. A hundred men is quite a lot for a group of bandits. There are probably less than fifteen of them."
Then the bandits appear. One after the other comes from behind the trees and bushes. Even when there are more than twenty in sight, there seems to be no end to them. Within a few minutes there are almost seventy bandits facing the less than thirty guards.
The guard really misjudged this, Alyena thinks just before the bandits clash with her guards.
The screams and sound of violence are deafening. However, the guards have no chance against such odds. The imperial guard consists of experienced warriors, but because their task is largely ceremonial, they are not prepared for a large battle. Their equipment is more suitable for impressing visitors of the palace than for holding out against a horde of bandits.
The guards defend themselves with all their might. Even the wounded are still trying to help, but to no avail. Although they manage to kill twenty bandits, the guards are taken apart. After the attack, only twelve guards are still alive, including five seriously injured. The others have mainly minor injuries. Among the wounded is also Captain Cervik. He appears to have fallen unconscious after his helmet was hit. He is only slowly recovering.
They are tied tightly with ropes after which, surrounded by bandits, they are led into the wilderness. Half an hour later they see a clearing where the bandits' camp can be seen. The camp consists of a hodgepodge of tents, canvases and huts.
The captain of the bandits brags that all the bandits have participated in the attack, after one of their scouts saw that a noblewoman would pass by. The guards will be sold as slaves, but a noblewoman will be worth a lot in ransom.
"Even after she's been in the hands of a group of bandits," he jokes. "I’d love to know what it's like to sleep with a real lady."
Then he shouts to his men that they should go and see what is hidden under those layers of clothing.
Enthralled, some bandits look at Alyena, after which they take her away from among the guards. While dragging her along, they are already groping her, but before they move far, a loud horn suddenly sounds.
For a moment it is quiet in the camp, but when the horn sounds again and then again, the bandits start screaming and running in circles.